Stacy Branham
(And a lot things you
weren’t expecting)
Nov. 5, 2009
Place, Space, & Context
Introduction
Web Privacy & Security
Ubiquitous Computing
Privacy and Trust
SOME PERSPECTIVE
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“place” & “context” are not the issue, a
new, Postmodernist philosophy of
interaction is
most work encountered so far in the
course has been rooted in an opposing
Modernist philosophy
presents two options to the usable security
community
THE ARGUMENT
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“Space” is not “place”
many systems use spatial metaphors
features of space:
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relational orientation and reciprocity
proximity and action
partitioning
presence and awareness
“The implied rationale is that if we design collaborative systems around notions of
space which mimic the spatial organisation of the real world, then we can support
the emergent patterns of human behavior and interaction which our everyday
actions in the physical world exhibit.”
Harrison, S. and Dourish, P. (1996). Re-Place-ing Space: The Roles of Place and Space in Collaborative Systems. In
Proceedings of the 1996 ACM conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work 67-76.
SPACE & PLACE, SO FAR
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“space is the opportunity; place is the
understood reality”
place is socially-(re)constructed
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adaption / appropriation (link)
cultural phenomena (link)
place is not designed in, but designed for
“The identification of ‘placeness’ as a cultural phenomenon––or, at least, one rooted in
human social action––results in a critical implication for the design of collaborative
systems and technologies. It shifts our focus away from the technology of place, since
that technology––doors, walls, and spatial distance––only gives rise to ‘placeness’
through the way in which it is given social meaning.”
Harrison, S. and Dourish, P. (1996). Re-Place-ing Space: The Roles of Place and Space in Collaborative Systems. In
Proceedings of the 1996 ACM conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work 67-76.
SPACE & PLACE, RECONFIGURED
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Artificial Intelligence
apparent complexity of human behavior
is a reflection of the complexity of the
environment
computers & brains are symbol systems
planning can be modeled with
computers
Simon, H. A. (1996). The Sciences of the Artificial. MIT Press.
SIMON, SUCHMAN
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“plans” are not “situated actions”
SI is (re)constructed in situ
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adaptation / appropriation
plans are merely references
plan : situated action as
space : place as
security mechanism : actual usage
Suchman, L. A. (2007). Human-machine reconfigurations: Plans and situated actions. Cambridge Univ Pr.
SIMON, SUCHMAN
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most systems focus on encoding context
assumptions about context:
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it is a form a information
it is delineable
it is stable
it can be separated from activity
“The idea that context consists of a set of features of the environment
surrounding generic activities, and that these features can be encoded and made
available to a software system alongside an encoding of the activity itself, is a
common assumption in many systems.”
“The kind of thing that can be modeled, using the four principles above, is not
the kind of thing that context is”
Dourish, P. (2001). Seeking a foundation for context-aware computing.aHuman-Computer Interaction, 16(2), 229–241.
Dourish, P. (2001). Where the Action Is: The Foundations of Embodied Interaction. Mit Pr.
Dourish, P. (2004). What we talk about when we talk about context. Personal and ubiquitous computing, 8(1), 19–30.
CONTEXT, SO FAR
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context cannot be encoded
alternative view of context:
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it is a relational property
its scope is defined dynamically
it is an occasioned property
it arises from the activity
“context is an emergent property” that is “continually negotiated and redefined.”
Furthermore, “people often find ways of using technology that are unexpected
and unanticipated. ...Even when the general patterns of technology use do
conform to expectations, the meaning of the technology for those who use it
depends on how generic features are particularized, how conventions emerge,
and so on.”
Dourish, P. (2001). Seeking a foundation for context-aware computing.aHuman-Computer Interaction, 16(2), 229–241.
Dourish, P. (2001). Where the Action Is: The Foundations of Embodied Interaction. Mit Pr.
Dourish, P. (2004). What we talk about when we talk about context. Personal and ubiquitous computing, 8(1), 19–30.
CONTEXT, RECONFIGURED
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Modernism on the heels of the
Enlightenment
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rationality
objectivity
positivism (abstract, quantitative, etc.)
(POST)MODERNISM, PHENOM.
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Postmodernism reaction to modernism
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rejects notion of objective rationality
phenomenology (subjective,
qualitative, embedded)
(POST)MODERNISM, PHENOM.
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philosophy of human experience
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Husserl, out of concern “crisis”
social action depends on agency and
interpretation
action precedes theory
Heidegger ditched dualism
Shutz added intersubjectivity
Dourish, P. (2004). What we talk about when we talk about context. Personal and ubiquitous computing, 8(1), 19–30.
(POST)MODERNISM, PHENOM.
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Place & Space
Modernism
Positivism
Postmodernism
Phenomenology
Artificial Intelligence
Plans & Situated Actions
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Context
Refs.
Postmodernist
environmental
complexity
Harrison&Dourish
(1996), p2; Simon
(1969), p52, 53
human/social
complexity
model construction,
meaningembedding
Suchman (1987),
p177; DourishA p239,
240
social construction /
meaning-making
Suchman (1987), p43
enabling people
Suchman (1987), p70,
177, 179; Dourish
(2001), p235, 237;
contextualized
inquiry precedes
theory
enabling machines
a priori reasoning
precedes theory
pre- / machine
determined
behavior
Suchman (1987), p70,
72, Harrison&Dourish
(1996) p4; Simon
(1969), p21, 23
situationally / human
determined behavior
Dourish, P. (2001). Seeking a foundation for context-aware computing. Human-Computer Interaction, 16(2), 229–241.
Harrison, S. and Dourish, P. (1996). Re-Place-ing Space: The Roles of Place and Space in Collaborative Systems. In Proceedings of the 1996 ACM
conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work 67-76.
Simon, H. A. (1996). The Sciences of the Artificial. MIT Press.
Suchman, L. A. (2007). Human-machine reconfigurations: Plans and situated actions. Cambridge Univ Pr.
(POST)MODERNIST SUMMARY
Modernist
Postmodernist
(POST)MODERNIST SUMMARY
Modernist
Weiser, Mark. Building Invisible Interfaces. Keynote Presentation from UIST 2004. http://www.ubiq.com/hypertext/weiser/UIST94_4up.ps.
true story: doctor & patient at checkout
hypothetical: PDA that allows doc to
show medical records
(POST)MODERNISM SCENARIO
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Modernism: use static elements of
context (place, userid), and predetermined reasoning constructs to grant
access
(POST)MODERNISM SCENARIO
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Postmodernism: context is constructed
moment-by-moment, meaning that
critical contextual elements and the way
users reason about them vary
(POST)MODERNISM SCENARIO
•
•
•
“place” & “context” are not the issue, a
new, Postmodernist philosophy of
interaction is
most work encountered so far in the
course has been rooted in an opposing
Modernist philosophy
presents two options to the usable security
community
THE ARGUMENT, SO FAR
•
Modernist
Examples
Systems: Grey, Bardram’s hospital
model construction, apps, PeopleFinder, Privacy Bird
meaningembedding
Frameworks: end-to-end
enabling machines
a priori reasoning
precedes theory
pre- / machine
determined
behavior
enterprise security frameworks,
Aura, semantic web & description
logics, even Dey & Abowd
SPACE & CONTEXT, SO FAR
environmental
complexity
•
•
“place” & “context” are not the issue, a
new, Postmodernist philosophy of
interaction is
most work encountered so far in the
course has been rooted in an opposing
Modernist philosophy
presents two options to the usable security
community
THE ARGUMENT, SO FAR
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•
Modernist: place, space, and context are the rich
environmental resources we can model a priori and
sample in situ in order to support semi-intelligent
ubiquitous computation
Postmodernist: place, space, and context
demonstrate the complexity of human-constructed
behavior in situ that cannot be modeled a priori, but
must be acknowledged in design
TWO INTERPRETATIONS
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to side with the camp you identify with now
to investigate, deeply, the opposing side,
most of all
TWO ACTIONABLE OPTIONS
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•
•
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“place” & “context” are not the issue, a
new, Postmodernist philosophy of
interaction is
most work encountered so far in the
course has been rooted in an opposing
Modernist philosophy
presents two interpreted challenges to the
usable security community
THE ARGUMENT, RECAP
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Which camp do you belong to? (or have
the camps been incorrectly defined?)
What impact does acknowledging your
camp have? On design? On evaluation?
Others?
DISCUSSION
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WWMWD?
DISCUSSION
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Weiser, Mark. Building Invisible Interfaces. Keynote Presentation from UIST 2004. http://www.ubiq.com/hypertext/weiser/UIST94_4up.ps.
Extra slides
What does this mean for social science
theory?
DISCUSSION
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CS@VT faculty
M. Arch
PARC
design, meaning-making
“I am currently conducting research on the meaning of cheating in games, the
relationship of art and computer science, the role of space and place in ICT -and the the way that ICT changes space and place, and creativity in design.“
MEET THE AUTHORS, HARRISON
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“The internet is a place where people who
don’t have lives go to read about people
who do.”
“Do I think that [Herbert Simon] is a bad
person? No. Do I think that greatly he
mislead a heck of a lot of people? You
bet!”
MEET THE AUTHORS, HARRISON
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UC, Irvine
EuroPARC, PhD, Apple,
PARC
“My research lies at the intersection of computer science and social science, with a
particular interest in ubiquitous and mobile computing and the practices
surrounding new media.”
MEET THE AUTHORS, DOURISH
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in his graduate days at EuroPARC,
romantic rival with Minneman for attentions
of Victoria Bellotti
MEET THE AUTHORS, DOURISH
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•Wittgenstein’s aphorism about games:
• What is common to them all? - Don’t say: “There must be something common, or they
would not be called ‘games’” - but look and see whether there is anything common to all. - For
if you look at them you will not see something that is common to all, but similarities,
relationships, and a whole series of them at that... To repeat: don’t think, but look!
•Writing about these developments in the context of global warming, Bruno Latour noted that "dangerous extremists are using the very
2 observation
theory/design 1
DISCUSSION
same argument of social construction to destroy hard-won evidence that could save our lives. Was I wrong to participate in the invention
of this field known as science studies? Is it enough to say that we did not really mean what we meant?"